In a bold and urgent plea, the Registrar of Political Parties, Emmanuel Pok, has called on Parliament to prioritize the revised Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) to prevent undemocratic behaviors and political instability. Speaking today (Tuesday, June 4th) at a press conference in Port Moresby, Pok expressed serious concerns over the lack of parliamentary interest in this crucial legislation, explaining that “we desperately need the policy to regulate this situation and restore democratic order in our government”. “The Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission is alarmed by the Parliament’s neglect of the revised Organic Law,” Pok stated. He detailed the exhaustive efforts since the Supreme Court's 2010 decision, involving key stakeholders, to revise and submit the law to the National Executive Council in 2014, only for it to be ignored. “After the Supreme Court decision in 2010, the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission together with the key stakeholders like the Constitutional Law Reform Commission, the State Solicitor's Office, the Auditor General's, the National Research Institute, the Attorney General's Office, we formed a committee and we revised the Organic Law.” “The work was completed in 2013 and in 2014 it was submitted to the National Executive Council.” “Since then the revised Organic Law and the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates have never been debated in parliament.” “It stayed with the government in 2013, that was the 9th parliament, and then it died in the 2017 elections, and after the 2017 elections, the Registry of Political Parties went back, did consultation, you know, we have to go back to the drawing board again, get the drafting instructions in and then we have to get set it again, went to the National Executive again and then it has never seen the light since today.” He stressed that it has never been debated in Parliament and remains stalled, leading to the current political chaos. “We are really concerned about the lack of interest the members of parliament have in this law and now we have a situation.” Pok highlighted the revised law's importance, stressing that its absence has fostered undemocratic practices within Parliament. “This is a policy situation that the Organic Law and the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates should address, and in the absence of the Organic Law, now we are pushing this big policy issue back into the political party, and it should be addressed at the Constitutional level.” He urgently appealed to the Marape-Rosso government to address this legislative void, noting that the revised Bill awaits a certificate of necessity from the State Solicitor's Office before proceeding to the National Executive Council. “We are appealing to the current government – the Marape-Rosso government to address it.” “In the beginning of 2022, the law saw its light when it was put on the notice paper in 2022, but then, there was no quorum, and elections were coming up, and so even though it was on the notice paper, it was not debated.” “We have five Constitutional amendments, but then we didn't have the numbers for the law to go through, and since then, it died with the last parliament and we (Commission) have resurrected it again, and it's with the State Solicitors.” “The revised Bill is with the State Solicitors to seek clarification and to attain the certificate of necessity before it goes to the drafting states, and once it goes into the National Executive Council, I want to appeal to the Members of Parliament to have a keen interest in it.” “It's now becoming very serious now, because in the absence of the law, we have undemocratic behaviors being cultivated in our parliament.” “We desperately need a policy in place to regulate this situation.”